Astonishing figures reveal children's driving offences

Nick Charity

An FOI request has revealed the number of children being convicted of driving offences.

Some 923 underage drivers were prosecuted in 2015 for more than one offence, with children as young as 12 convicted multiple times, outlined the research conducted by insurance company Churchill.

On top of the thousand-odd underage drivers, each week a minor is also convicted of dangerous driving despite being under the age to even apply for a driving licence, the company outlined.

One child was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in the UK last year, and one 16-year-old driver accrued the highest number of prosecutions - going to court 15 times for different offences over the course of 2015.

Steve Barrett, head of Car Insurance at Churchill Insurance, said: “While the volumes of offences concerning underage and under the influence drivers are low, the impact on the victims and their families involved in accidents with these drivers is immeasurable. Highlighting these frightening statistics will hopefully act as a catalyst for the government and educators to address this issue as a matter of urgency.”